While @ my in-laws the other day, my 5 yr old ds asked when he could go to "real" school & ride the "school bus". i almost froze b/c (a) we've never really talked about that (b) my in-laws totally do NOT understand why we chose to homeschool and act like it's really just a matter of time before i enroll them in public school. Since he's 5 I think they are just waiting to see what action we will take when it's time for him to enter 1st grade. We are just about done w/ preschool at this time.

How do you answer your child when they ask the question when are they going to get to ride the school bus & go to "real" school? I'm not quite sure my answer sufficed him. Again, being totally blown away at the question, I think I told him something along the lines that some children go to public school (a.k.a. "real" school) and some children school at home and then I think I just changed the subject so that my in-laws would not put their opions in.

My first thought is he may be picking up on subtleties that your in-laws do not mean for him to notice. that's what I got from your first PH.

I would take him on a bus trip if you can like a gray hound for the day or something. Have you sat down and told him why you homeschool him? If you can make a list of all the things you and he like to do together and take off the things that would interfere with school and dinner to show him. Is there a summer program at the local elementary school he can go to. Does your state allow him to participate in extracurricular activities? then he can take the late bus home.

Have you asked him WHY he wants to go? it may be something he thinks he can get out of school that he can't get at home that you can remedy. My sons reason was his cousin told him in school you don't HAVE to listen to teachers.

As a last effort I did a day of school with Miguel. I did I made our office into a regular class within an hour he no longer wanted to go to school even though it wasn't like I was being harsh. The inability to speak every second, and move every second was to much for him.

hey, i think that's a great idea about asking my ds why he wants to go to "real" school. i'm sure i can explain things to him about why we chose to homeschool him. he's a pretty understanding little fella anyway. however, i'm not quite sure about taking the greyhound w/ him. not sure it would be safe enough. thanks alot for the great advice.

My youngest was in K for 2 1/2 months and she had the "wanting to ride a school bus issue." (We drove her to school.)
When we started HS she was so disappointed because now she would NEVER get to ride a school bus! There just must be something magical to kids about riding a bus. Until you actually have to do it everyday. Then she got to ride one (it was actually a church bus, but it looked like a school bus) and decided it wasn't that big of a deal after all, and that was the end of that.
Maybe you could find some other activitiy (the YMCA, a camp, church, ect.) that uses a "school" bus just for the experience._________________Jill

My 5 and 6 year olds were so interested in the School Bus. They ran to the window to watch it everyday. They had a million questions about it. Then one day they learned that you don't take your booster seat with you on the school bus. That changed everything. My 6 year old son exclaimed "Well that's just not safe!" and neither child has been interested in riding on the bus since.

I hope that one day they have the opportunity to see inside a school bus but for right now, I'm glad the interest in the school bus has been lost._________________Dawn

hey thanks. that's a great idea about the car seats. that will most likely work for him since he COMPLETELY understands the importance of safety. my sister works for a company/organization called SafeKids & helps us understand seat belt & car seat safety. thanks for the thought.

I rode the bus until I graduated high school. If you want, I could tell your kids some stories about what happens on the bus that could blister their ears. _________________I'm a nice enough guy, and if I say something hurtful I probably didn't mean it that way.

My son is so happy he does not have to ride it anymore! All the bullies and unsupervised kids really were hard for him. Imagine driving a school bus with so many kids ranging in ages k-highschool and having to keep your eyes and attention on the road.
One day the driver almost got in an accident while he yelled to the back of the bus to behave. Maybe if you tell them how the school bus really is they will not want to go on it. My kid had candy put in his hair one day and was spit on the next.
Also, maybe you could take them on a city bus just to ride so they get the feel of it without all the brat kids and screaming bus driver.

well, after we joined the YMCA, i let him go on one of their buses to see what it was like. he said ooh, it's dirty & stinky, let's get off this bus. so we did & he hasn't mentioned riding on one since. plus, i did kind of explain that some kids aren't very nice when they are on the bus...not as a scare tactic, but to be honest about it. at least that's how it was when i was a kid._________________Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things....